Courtesy of Speedway Grand Prix
SWEET DREAMS FOR EMIL IN CARDIFF
Russian sensation Emil Sayfutdinov stormed to a dream Fogo British FIM Speedway Grand Prix victory in Cardiff and admits sleeping through Saturday’s extra practice session was the perfect preparation.
The Salavat-born starlet went seven points clear at the top of the World Championship with his third SGP triumph of 2013 after seeing off second-placed Niels-Kristian Iversen and third-placed Krzysztof Kasprzak in a frantic final.
His position was further strengthened by an horrific moment for his nearest challenge Tai Woffinden after the British hopeful suffered a broken collarbone when he crashed in heat 14.
Sayfutdinov added his Millennium Stadium gold medal to those he claimed in Bydgoszcz and Gothenburg to match the three Grand Prix victories he achieved in his World Championship debut season in 2009.
The 23-year-old opted against joining his rivals at the track on Saturday morning, where an extra practice session was staged at 10am after Friday’s usual run-out was curtailed to allow extra preparation work.
Sayfutdinov – one of only two riders who didn’t take part in the session along with Antonio Lindback – stayed at the hotel and practised his sleeping instead. And he feels the extra rest gave him the edge.
He said: “Friday was practice day and I felt good with the track. On Saturday morning they had more practice, but I was at the hotel having a good sleep. I woke up at 8.30am in the morning and Susi, my manager, asked ‘do you want to practice?’
“I said ‘no, I’ll go to sleep!’ I woke up at 11am, went for something to eat and then came to the stadium ready to race.
“I’m happy with the result. I’m just looking for points and taking it heat by heat, so to be leading the World Championship is a great feeling.”
Sayfutdinov has made no secret of the fact he feels more ready to chase speedway’s biggest prize in 2013. Asked the secret to his success so far, he replied: “I think I spent my winter much better. I practised very hard doing motocross thanks to my friend in St Petersburg, who coached me and explained how to ride. This is my secret for winning.”
The Czestochowa and Indianerna rider made the most of some mistakes from Slovak rider Martin Vaculik in the semi-final to sneak past for second place, before going on to win the medal race.
Sayfutdinov may be flying on the track, but he has had a torrid time away from speedway of late, having lost his father Damir to cancer. The double World Under-21 champion believes his first coach was smiling down from above as he sought a way into the last four.
He said: “It’s like six-time world champion Tony Rickardsson says; ‘a world champion needs luck.’ I had luck in this one. I had some from my father. The second place got me more points. I’m still winning and I’m still in first position, so this is good.”
Runner-up Iversen was over the moon to achieve the best performance of his SGP career and better the fourth spot he notched at the Danish FIM Speedway Grand Prix as a wild card in 2009.
He said: “I was making good gates all night, but I couldn’t really take it into the final. There was a bit of a battle going on at the front. I made sure I was there and I’m really happy with second.”
Kasprzak was gutted with third place after leading the first run of the final, which saw Fredrik Lindgren excluded after crashing on turn four.
“I’m really sad because I was at the front and it got stopped,” he said. “I got third because I chased too hard, but Emil was faster. I’m racing better and better, though. I’m not 100 percent yet, but it’s going better and better and it will be alright.”
Iversen and Kasprzak will be desperate to stand on the top step of the rostrum at the next round – the Gorzow FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on their Ekstraliga home track on June 15.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Emil Sayfutdinov 69, 2 Tai Woffinden 61, 3 Nicki Pedersen 56, 4 Chris Holder 54, 5 Jaroslaw Hampel 52, 6 Niels-Kristian Iversen 49, 7 Tomasz Gollob 48, 8 Greg Hancock 45, 9 Matej Zagar 41, 10 Fredrik Lindgren 40, 11 Krzysztof Kasprzak 38, 12 Andreas Jonsson 30, 13 Martin Vaculik 29, 14 Darcy Ward 25, 15 Antonio Lindback 24, 16 Chris Harris 7, 17 Krzysztof Buczkowski 6, 18 Linus Sundstrom 6, 19 Ales Dryml 5, 20 Josef Franc 2, 21 Jason Bunyan 1, 22 Craig Cook 1, 23 Josh Auty 1.
FOGO BRITISH SGP SCORES: 1 Emil Sayfutdinov 14, 2 Niels-Kristian Iversen 16, 3 Krzysztof Kasprzak 13, 4 Fredrik Lindgren 12, 5 Chris Holder 14, 6 Greg Hancock 11, 7 Martin Vaculik 11, 8 Nicki Pedersen 11, 9 Tai Woffinden 7, 10 Chris Harris 7, 11 Jaroslaw Hampel 6, 12 Tomasz Gollob 5, 13 Andreas Jonsson 3, 14 Matej Zagar 3, 15 Ales Dryml 2, 16 Antonio Lindback 2, 17 Craig Cook 1, 18 Josh Auty 1.
Notes to Editors:
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